Because of its uncritical stance towards Russia, the AfD often has to answer questions in the Bundestag and the European Parliament. Now the question arises: Is there possibly money involved?
In the affair surrounding a pro-Russian disinformation campaign, AfD member of the Bundestag Petr Bystron denied having received payments from the Internet platform “Voice of Europe” (VoE) or from Russian citizens. “At no time did I receive any money payments or cryptocurrencies from a VoE employee (or any Russian),” he wrote in a statement to the party leadership, which was available to the German Press Agency. However, a Ukrainian citizen also plays a role in the pro-Russian network.
The Czech newspaper “Denik N” had previously reported that Bystron was suspected of having been in contact with the pro-Russian Internet platform “Voice of Europe”, which the Prague cabinet had recently placed on the national sanctions list. He may also have accepted money. Bystron’s name was said to have been mentioned at the cabinet meeting, the newspaper reported, citing several ministers. An unnamed government member said, citing the domestic secret service BIS, with reference to Bystron: “You can provide audio evidence of the handover of money.”
Czech secret service is keeping a low profile
For its part, the Czech domestic secret service BIS does not plan to release any audio recordings of the case to the public for the time being. “The general rule is that this would be intelligence material that we do not publish,” said a spokesman in Prague when asked.
On Wednesday, AfD chairmen Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla requested a written statement from Bystron by today at the latest. According to a party spokesman, this was received at midday. He said the party and parliamentary group executive committees would discuss this in the coming days. As things stand, Weidel and Chrupalla want to speak to Bystron on Monday.
The Czech BIS spokesman said it was not customary for secret services to make such material available to other states. Apart from that, colleagues from a German intelligence service received “comparatively extensive information” about the case. “It is then up to them or the state organs how they appear to the public.” He did not want to provide further details because, according to him, it is an active case that several European secret services are working on. Strict transmission regulations also apply in Germany. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution could not easily pass on a recording of a surveillance measure approved by the G10 Commission of the Bundestag.
The Munich Public Prosecutor’s Office has meanwhile launched a so-called preliminary investigation, as it announced on Thursday when asked. The prosecution emphasized that this did not indicate initial suspicion. Preliminary investigations are not regulated by law and are often carried out routinely; in this case, the public prosecutor’s office justified the examination with “current reporting”.
Bystron sees itself as a victim of a “globalist campaign”
Bystron, who is running for second place on the AfD list in the European elections on June 9th, wrote of a “defamation campaign against politicians from six European parties – including me.” This “globalist campaign” attempts to prevent a strong performance by right-wing populist parties in Europe and the formation of a strong group in the European Parliament. “I have already contacted lawyers in both Germany and the Czech Republic to take action against this defamation.” Bystron was born in what was then Czechoslovakia. As a teenager he emigrated to Germany with his parents.
According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the term “globalists” can describe representatives of a transnational or “neoliberal-global political, social and/or economic order”. A publication by the intelligence service continues: “At the same time, right-wing extremist and anti-Semitic circles of people use “globalists” as a synonym for a (Jewish) elite that operates secretly on a global scale and is supposed to control the fate of the world.”
Baerbock speaks of hybrid warfare
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock sees the affair in connection with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s hybrid warfare. The approach is aimed at hollowing out and undermining democracies in Europe from within, said the Green politician on the sidelines of a NATO foreign ministers meeting in Brussels.
The AfD’s leading candidate in the European elections, Maximilian Krah, told “Welt” before receiving Bystron’s statement: “Petr Bystron should not make any election campaign appearances until the allegations in the room have been clarified.” Some in the party were surprised at this suggestion. When asked, Krah added that he had advised Bystron to “concentrate on clarification and to avoid public appearances.”
In addition to Bystron, Krah was also interviewed by “Voice of Europe”, according to his own statement, first in Prague in September and then in January in Brussels. Krah emphasized that in his case, not even the Czech secret service claimed that he had accepted money.
A spokeswoman for the Federal Ministry of the Interior confirmed last week that cross-border cooperation between European security authorities had “uncovered a Russian influence operation against the European Parliament.” The network surrounding the Ukrainian citizen Artyom Machewskyj, who has been subject to Czech sanctions, “exercises illegitimate influence on the European Parliament on behalf of Russia. To do this, it uses politicians from several European countries and provides considerable funds.”
Krah said he met Machewskyj before the first interview. When asked whether he was aware at the time that he was suspected of being a Russian agent of influence, Krah replied “No.”
Proximity to Russia also repeatedly causes unrest in the AfD
It is not the first time that the AfD has come under pressure because of an uncritical stance towards Russia or questionable contacts. The enthusiasm of some AfD representatives for the authoritarian leadership style of Russian President Vladimir Putin as well as visits, some of which were not agreed upon with the party leadership or the respective faction, regularly cause tension internally. In March, three Bavarian AfD members of the state parliament traveled to Russia as election observers. “The parliamentary group expressly rejects this trip,” said the chairwoman of the AfD parliamentary group, Katrin Ebner-Steiner, at the time. After harsh criticism, three AfD members of the state parliament canceled a trip to Russia in September 2022 and forewent the originally planned visit to the Russian-occupied Donbass in eastern Ukraine. Hans-Thomas Tillschneider and Daniel Wald from Saxony-Anhalt and Christian Blex from North Rhine-Westphalia were traveling together.
The Bundestag member, Joana Cotar, resigned from the AfD two months later. She justified her decision as follows: “The AfD’s ingratiation with the dictatorial and inhumane regimes in Russia, China and now Iran are unworthy of an upright democratic and patriotic party.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
